The Warlock's Gambit

Warlock Monroso. That was the name of the NPC ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mage currently plotting in the shadows. Unlike other warlocks who genuinely worshipped or believed in demons, Monroso viewed them as mere tools to be exploited. Tools to conquer the continent! His approach to the Orcs of the Uruk Region was simply a means to gather subordinates. If he could restore the heavily wounded Great Chieftain, his own standing would skyrocket.

Of some concern, however, was the method he had used to awaken the Great Chieftain. The Blood of the Sealed Ancient Demon—a sinister, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠corrupting substance whose effects upon consumption were entirely unpredictable. No sane person would ever drink it. Yet, Monroso had fed this demonic blood to the chieftain to heal his wounds. As a result, even though Great Chieftain Karag had regained consciousness, he remained paralyzed, reduced to a mere puppet dancing on Monroso's strings.

"To summon Edaor, a common sacrifice won't suffice. I wonder how many Orcs I must offer up..."

"Master. Shouldn't we at least check on the demon you dispatched? It has been gone for far too long, and I am growing concerned."

"Very well. Just to be safe, I shall send other Orcs to investigate. The identity of that newly appeared mage is highly suspicious as well. Surely he isn't a mage sent by the Magic Tower?"

He hadn't been sent by the Magic Tower, but he did technically hail from there.

"Do you harbor a grudge against mages from the Magic Tower?"

"Those meddlesome fools interfere with my plans at every turn! The sheer depth of my hatred for them is... No, it matters not. Even if they were to come now, there is nothing they could do. The Orcs here are already in the palm of my hand, and soon, I will have far more powerful demons at my beck and call!"

"Whoa, look at this bomb! Can I take it?"

"Of course! You may take it!"

"This carriage looks fascinating. How do you make it?"

"Of course we'll show you!"

If other blacksmiths had witnessed this, they would have wept tears of blood in sheer envy. Blueprints for items like these were incredibly difficult to obtain. Normally, a player had to endure endless trial and error to design one from scratch, or complete grueling quests for NPCs who held the recipes. Yet here was Tae-hyun, securing them with a single casual remark...

"Count Kim Tae-hyun. We are thinking of building the Archisus Temple here. What do you think?"

"Honestly, as long as it gets built, anywhere is fine... Wait, isn't this spot a bit much?"

Sinister-looking bombs. The goblins were pointing right next to the warehouse where those very explosives were piled high!

"Why? This is the best spot, isn't it?"

"...Why?"

The goblins' logic was simple: a place with lots of bombs equaled the best place. Because their affinity with Tae-hyun was so high, they were trying to show him the utmost hospitality. To Tae-hyun, however, it felt like an absolute death trap.

He could already see the system alerts flashing before his eyes: The Archisus Temple has been caught in an explosion and destroyed! Your Holy stat has plummeted!

"Ah, no. I mean... it feels a bit selfish for someone who just arrived today like me to take such a prime location. It's perfectly fine to put the temple in a slightly worse spot..."

"Nonsense, Count Kim Tae-hyun! We may have only met today, but we can see right through you!"

"See what?"

"At your core, you are a goblin!"

"...R-right. Thanks."

You're basically a goblin! It was technically a compliment, but it left a highly complicated aftertaste.

"Therefore, we shall build it here!"

"...Sure..."

Despite the highly questionable location, goblins were fundamentally exceptional blacksmiths. They simply had a different focus than dwarves. Thanks to their efficiency, Tae-hyun didn't have to lift a finger to build the temple. *Clang, bang, hammer!*

"Hmm... Whichever goblins are the best at handling bombs, raise your hands."

A crowd of goblins eagerly raised their hands. Tae-hyun nodded in approval.

"You guys are the priests."

He had chosen them purely out of laziness!

What Tae-hyun was truly focused on was the Orc tribes of Uruk. They were enemies he would inevitably have to fight. To stand a chance against their overwhelming numbers, it was best to gather as many allies as possible. Even the fearsome Orcs dreaded the goblins' engineering skills. Though unstable and bizarre, their inventions possessed devastating, undeniable power once they actually detonated.

This place is a blacksmith's paradise.

It was practically magic—his skills rose just by walking around and looking at things! Tae-hyun briefly considered bringing Gabriel and the other blacksmiths from his territory here. Observing this place would undoubtedly be of immense help to them. Besides, they would probably get along incredibly well...

Shiver! A sudden chill ran down Tae-hyun's spine. For some inexplicable reason, he felt an overwhelming instinct that he must absolutely never let Gabriel and these goblins meet.

"Sniff... I finally finished it all."

"Alcott, are we really just leaving like this?"

"I told you to shut up... Wait, didn't you use to call me Lord Alcott?"

"I'm pretty sure I always just called you Alcott."

Respect had completely evaporated along with his dignity! Normally, Alcott would have flown into a fiery rage, but he didn't. He was simply too overwhelmed with joy.

I'm free... I'm finally free!

Once they finished all those tedious chore quests and returned, Tae-hyun had actually let them go without any fuss. Alcott had been so incredulous that he had asked if they were truly free to leave multiple times!

The one who survives is the strong one. Therefore, I am the strong one!

"Alright. Now that we've survived Kim Tae-hyun..."

"Survived?"

"Ah, no. I mean, now that we've parted ways... let's get back to my quest."

"But we can't go back to the Orc village anymore."

Because their disguises had been blown, their reputation within the Orc village had plummeted to rock bottom. Going back would only lead to disaster.

"It can't be helped. We'll just have to find another tribe and seek their help."

"Can't we just do a different quest instead?"

"You brat. Why are you whining so much?"

Rustle—

"...?"

Just as the two were about to leave, a party suddenly emerged from the brush in front of them.

"..."

It was Cain's party, which included Jang Ssu-an.

"We're lost, aren't we?"

"Ah, I told you we're not!"

"I'm pretty sure we're lost..."

"We are not! We're heading the right way! This is definitely... Huh?"

The first to notice each other were Jang Ssu-an and Alcott.

"Jang Ssu-an!"

"Alcott!"

"You were actually here?!"

"...?"

Hearing Alcott's words, Lee Da-bi tilted her head. She realized something was off.

"You said 'actually here.' It sounds like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you already knew we were in the area. How did you find out?"

At Lee Da-bi's question, Cain glared suspiciously at Jang Ssu-an.

"You bastard... Did you go around blabbing about our location?"

"N-no! Why would I do that? I would never make such a clumsy mistake!"

In truth, if one were to trace back the root cause, it was actually Lee Da-bi's doing, but there was no way anyone present could know that.

More importantly, Alcott is the problem right now.

He's a ranker from the Guild Alliance, right?

Is he going to pick a fight? Well, we have two rankers on our side, so we have the advantage. Let's finish this quickly before they can call for backup.

Cain's party rapidly exchanged glances. Cain immediately prepared to use his chains. *Pull them in first, ask questions later!* There was no way Alcott would miss such a blatant tell.

"Wait!"

"...?"

"I have absolutely no intention of fighting you!"

"...??"

"Did you eat something bad, Alcott?"

Jang Ssu-an asked, utterly bewildered. Alcott was a ranker famous for his aggressive, combative nature. Furthermore, as an assassin, a hit-and-run skirmish here would be highly viable for him, even if he was outnumbered.

"Hmph! There is no way fools like you could ever comprehend my thoughts! I shall take my leave!"

*Whoosh!* Alcott bolted, fleeing at top speed. Jang Ssu-an and Cain chose not to give chase. It could easily be a trap.

"Why did he run away?"

"Perhaps he saw you two and got scared?"

"R-really? Hehe..."

"Ahem. Cough."

Cain and Jang Ssu-an tried to hide their pleased expressions behind awkward coughs. Cain was always starved for praise, but Jang Ssu-an usually wasn't. The fact that even Jang Ssu-an reacted this way proved just how grueling this quest had been for them.

"By the way, I wonder how Kim Tae-hyun is doing right now."

"Even for my senior, dealing with the goblin tribe will be difficult," Jeong Su-hyeok said in a deeply concerned tone.

"For the Orc tribes, you can gain entry as long as you're of the Orc race. For the Primitive Human Tribe, you can enter by demonstrating exceptional magic. But goblins are the type to attack first and ask questions later."

"Is that so?"

"But since it's my senior, I'm sure he'll find a way! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I believe in him!"

"Y-yeah."

Cain, who had asked a casual question only to be met with a wave of passionate worship, wore a highly complicated expression.

"We still need to clear the pirate tribe quest too. How should we handle them?"

"Since they're a pirate tribe, it'll be easier for someone with high Infamy to approach them."

"And the person with the highest Infamy is..."

Everyone nodded in unison.

"Kim Tae-hyun, obviously."

"It has to be Tae-hyun, right?"

"Senior Kim Tae-hyun..."

It was a conviction that required absolutely no stat verification. None of them believed there could possibly be anyone with a higher Infamy stat than Tae-hyun.

"Hmm... If I take all these bombs, plant them underneath the Orc village, and blow them sky-high... No, I'll only get one shot at this, and that won't be enough. Isn't there something even more powerful?"

"What are you muttering to yourself about?"

"Ah. Just doing some thinking."

Hearing that Tae-hyun was deep in thought, Kim Manager thumped his chest confidently.

"If something is troubling you, feel free to talk to me. I may not look like much, but I've survived in the entertainment industry for over ten years."

"Ah, it wasn't really about the broadcast."

"...Oh, really?"

Kim Manager had assumed Tae-hyun was nervous about his upcoming show, so he was thrown off by the denial.

"Then what is it?"

"I was wondering where to plant the bombs for maximum efficiency..."

*Screeeech!*

Terrified, Kim Manager slammed on the brakes.

"Excuse me?!"

"I have to deal with some Orcs, you see."

"Ah... You meant in Pandemonium Online..."

Kim Manager let out a massive sigh of relief.

"Pandemonium Online really is an incredible game. It's not often you see a game enjoyed by people of all ages and genders."

"True."

"I met a producer when I accompanied the CEO the other day, and he was absolutely obsessed with Pandemonium Online..."

*Shiver!* Tae-hyun suddenly shuddered. The PD of Don't Go Home came to mind.

Hello, Tae-hyun. We met the other day... That man who kept sending him essay-length text messages begging him to play Pandemonium Online together! Deflecting his attention toward Lee Se-yeon was no longer working.

"And the CEO's niece is doing incredibly well in Pandemonium Online too."

The CEO's niece? Ah, Lee Se-yeon.

"It really is a fascinating game in so many ways, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Lee Se-yeon is coming separately, right?"

"Ah, she said she was a bit tired today, so I was planning to swing by and pick her up on the way. You don't mind sharing a ride, do you?"

"Haha. Of course I don't mind."

Tae-hyun was perfectly fine with it. Lee Se-yeon would probably say she was fine with it too. Whether it would actually turn out fine for Kim Manager, however, remained to be seen.